Judge Pauses Annual Fees Imposed on Asylum Seekers by "One Big Beautiful Bill"

"The so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, which became law on July 4, 2025, instituted a new fee system for people in the immigration system, including asylum seekers. The legislation requires that they pay a $100 filing fee and an Annual Asylum Fee (AAF) of $100 for each year their application is pending. The new law bars asylum seekers from obtaining fee waivers."

""The annual asylum fee imposes economic hardship on asylum seekers, many of whom have limited means," ASAP's complaint says. "That problem is magnified by USCIS's [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] and EOIR's [Executive Office for Immigration Review] retroactive application of the statute, which purports to require asylum seekers to come up with the funds on short (or no) notice." "The stakes for asylum seekers with pending applications could not be higher," the complaint continues."

A law enacted July 4, 2025, established a new fee regime requiring asylum seekers to pay a $100 filing fee plus a $100 Annual Asylum Fee for each year an application remains pending, and it eliminates fee waivers. A judge temporarily ruled that asylum seekers are not required, for now, to pay the annual fee while a lawsuit by the Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project proceeds. The advocacy complaint says the annual fee causes economic hardship, is magnified by alleged retroactive application by immigration authorities, and that failure to pay can lead to denial or dismissal of applications.

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